Term | Definition |
Alimentary canal | Or gastrointestinal. The gastrointestinal tract that begins at the mouth and ends at the anus |
Bolus | Chewed bite of food mixed with saliva |
Caries | An erosion through the enamel of a tooth into the dentin. Commonly called a cavity |
Chemical digestion | The breakdown of complex molecules to their building blocks so they can be absorbed |
Chyme | The liquefied contents of the stomach |
Constipation | **No per instructor** Condition of which defecation is difficult because too much water has been removed from the feces |
Defecation | **No per instructor** Process of removing feces from the body |
Deglutition | The process of swallowing |
Diarrhea | **No per instructor** Condition of a runny stool |
Emulsify | To break lipids into smaller droplets |
Feces | **No per instructor** The contents of the large intestine, composed of 75% water and 25% solids. |
Flatus | **No per instructor** Gas that is produced by bacteria and causes bloat, discomfort, and an unpleasant odor when released |
Ingestion | The intake of food into the mouth |
Lacteals | Small lymphatic vessels that are located in the villi of the small intestine and into which the products of lipid digestion are absorbed |
Mass movement | **No per instructor** The movement of feces from the transverse colon to the sigmoid colon to the rectum; initiated by distension of the stomach |
Mastication | The process of chewing |
Mechanical digestion | The breakdown of large pieces of complex molecules to smaller pieces of complex molecules |
Parasite | An organism that lives on or in another organism (the host) and obtains its nourishment there |
Peristalsis | Wave-like contractions used to move materials along the digestive system |
Segmentation | **No per instructor** A stationary constriction of the smooth muscle of the small intestine in ring-like patterns to further churn chyme and mix in bile and digestive enzymes to finish chemical digestion |